My Story

Perfection. The word I used to strive for in speech fluency.
I became a PWS (person

who stutters) on May 27, 2007. I will always remember the date, time and location of
that event because I was in Giants Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, watching
my favorite football/soccer team, Benfica, play a friendly match. I distinctly remember
watching the players warm up before the game and turning to my cousin to make a
comment about one of the players when suddenly I just couldn't get his name to come
out of my mouth. I thought nothing of it besides it being kind of weird and unusual, but
little did I know that would be the first of endless speech block incidents that I would
suffer for the next fifteen years.
I became a situational stutterer, primarily experiencing blocks. Depending on where and

with whom I was conversing, these blocks would sabotage my interactions. For some
reason, I believed that as I aged, my stuttering would gradually fade away. However, as
time passed, I realized that wasn't the case. I grew weary of my stuttering holding me
back in life, and I was fed up with letting it dictate my every move. It never made any
sense to me why I could speak perfectly fine alone in a room, but the moment another
human being entered the picture, the mental mind games I often played on myself—
thinking, preplanning, and fearing words—would take hold of me.
So, it wasn't until early 2019 that I decided to address my speech issues, and who
better to assist me than a speech therapist—or so I thought. I was eager and anxious to
embark on my journey to fluency. However, after nearly a year of weekly sessions and
spending close to $1,000, I felt that my speech had not improved. While I have a
positive relationship with my speech therapist and continue to stay in touch to this day,
the techniques she employed didn't resonate with me. During our sessions, all she had
me do was practice having conversations and reading aloud slowly using elongation. I
disliked the elongation technique because, as we all know, elongated speech is
unnatural, and nobody speaks like that. Additionally, she introduced me to a DAF
(Delayed Auditory Feedback) device, where I would hear my own voice in my head
through headphones. While it did help me speak fluently, I detested the way it made me
sound— I would speak in a monotone, robotic voice devoid of any personality or
charisma, like I am doing right now.
On top of that, she even encouraged me to open up to people about my stutter,

believing it would lift a weight off my shoulders. Again, who better to listen to than a
Speech-Language Pathologist, right? Wrong! I had never disclosed my stutter to
anyone before, and I was good at hiding it. I didn't have to speak unless necessary, and
unknowingly at the time, I was a master at using crutches 2 and 5 during conversations.
Disclosing my stutter only compounded the problem. Afterwards, during conversations, I
would subconsciously think, "Oh God, they know I stutter. I better do a good job of not
blocking on a word."
It just became mentally draining, and I would often vent my frustrations with my
therapist, constantly expressing that I wasn't seeing any progress. I stopped talking to
her for a while after I sent her a long text venting my frustrations one day, and her reply
felt like she stuck a knife in my heart when she suggested I stick with my stutter and
embrace it since I'm not improving my speech. When I read that, it got me thinking, what
was the point of wasting all this time and money with her, only for her to tell me now that
I'm hopeless and would have to stutter forever? Afterward, I isolated myself from the
world. At times, I didn't even want to talk to my parents or brother because I felt my
speech was getting worse, and I was blocking on more words than before. It reached a
boiling point one night, the day before Christmas Eve 2022 actually, where I remember
crying my eyes out for 30-40 minutes straight, thinking I would have to live with
stuttering forever.
However, even though this sounds like a sad story, something amazing came out of it!
When I stopped sobbing like a baby, I went on Reddit and visited the stuttering
community page. I was touched by a comment that a user left about how they overcame
their stuttering by reading a book. Naturally, this piqued my interest, and I direct
messaged the user, asking which book helped them stop stuttering. The user replied,
suggesting I read "HOW TO STOP STUTTERING & LOVE SPEAKING" by the great
Lee Lovett. I immediately went on Amazon, purchased a copy, and began reading. I can
honestly say this book not only touched my heart but also my SOUL. The stories Lee
told about himself, other PWS, and especially the methods to defeat stuttering were
nothing short of remarkable. I finished reading the book in under 2-3 weeks because I
was at my wits' end with stuttering and wanted it out of my life completely. In the
beginning of joining this program, I would read 2-3 hours a day, practice crutches on
different pages, and, of course, do my daily mind training twice, sometimes even three
times a day. I would also consume as many coaching videos as time would allow.
Watching these coaching videos with the likes of Lee, Javi, Prathushua, etc., was
extremely beneficial to me. It feels like you're in your own one-on-one session with a
therapist. I find these videos to be helpful and informative, and that’s way more than I
can say about my own professional speech therapist.
Before discovering Lee’s books and WSSA, I was unsure about my purpose on this
earth. Initially, I believed it was to be a good son, older brother, grandson, cousin,
nephew, godfather, classmate, co-worker, friend, and even a stranger. Additionally, I
thought I was meant to be an avid football/soccer fan, as I once ate, slept, and breathed
the beautiful game. However, these thoughts have changed, and again, it's all thanks to
Lee’s books and the WSSA program. What Lee and others part of WSSA have created
is a heaven's paradise for stutterers! Only PWS can truly describe the mental barriers
they face on a daily basis with stuttering. Unfortunately, stuttering remains the only
disability that still gets made fun of by others, be it intentional or unintentional. I thought
I would have to live with mine forever until I found Lee’s God-sent novelty and program.
Initially, the only thing I wanted from this entire program was to change my status from
PWS to PWSS. While I did achieve that status in only two to three months after
diligently immersing myself in Lee’s methods, I've gained something even more
valuable from this whole process, and that’s daily mind training through positive
affirmations! Negative thoughts about stuttering cannot enter a stutterer’s already full
mind. We must override those thoughts with an ocean of positive affirmations. If results
aren’t achieved in rapid succession, don’t get discouraged. The goal of improved
speech lies in the sacrificial journey it took to get there, not in its final destination.
With that said, now I know what my sole purpose in life is, and that’s to help as many
PWS become PWSS. I’m all in on this great program Lee has created. I’ve literally
drank gallons and gallons of his own Kool-Aid and it has never tasted so sweeter!
During my first SAM talk, I expressed my desire to make WSSA my lifelong home and
possible livelihood, growing old while helping countless individuals. Fast forward seven
months later, and I am living that commitment. I have become a Certified Speech
Therapist for WSSA, helping many individuals during practice sessions, therapy
sessions, and even offering one on one free speech consultations. Currently, I have the
pleasure of working alongside another remarkable Lovett, Dean, in the process of
creating a mobile app to better serve stutterers. As a passionate advocate for WSSA, I
regularly reach out to numerous PWS through various social media platforms, urging
them to explore Lee’s books and program. Over the past year, I estimate having
reached out to 5,000-6,000 individuals, I even participated in six stuttering-related
podcasts. In these podcasts, I discuss my personal journey with stuttering and, most
importantly, how Lee’s books and videos have positively transformed my life. One of the
greatest honors to date was being featured on my favorite national syndicated morning
radio show, "Elvis Duran and the Morning Show," which is listened to weekly by 8
million individuals. During the show, I discussed the benefits I gained from reading Lee’s
books. It was surreal to hear the host of the show, whom I have been listening to for
years, complimenting how good my speech sounded and expressing gratitude for the
call.
There are approximately seventy to eighty million stutterers worldwide, and I genuinely
want to help them all in improving not only their speech but, most importantly, their
minds. It may seem like a daunting task, but history has shown us that it only takes one
person to make a substantial difference in this world. Overcoming stuttering will be a
significant achievement that will lead you down a path to even more great accolades. I'll
conclude this talk by saying to any current PWS here: if your patient and persistent
enough with yourself and diligently immerse yourself within all the amazing resources
WSSA provides, then one day you can join me and many other kindred spirits here and
be able to say that you too converted stuttering into the greatest blessing in your life.

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Perfection. The word I used to strive for in speech fluency.

I became a PWS (person

I became a situational stutterer, primarily experiencing blocks. Depending on where and

On top of that, she even encouraged me to open up to people about my stutter,

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